1. Identify your market

If you don’t know your market, you’ve already made a mistake. “Oh, my market is fantasy,” you might say. But is your story steampunk, urban, or dark fantasy? Are there elves or tech? Is it set in the modern world, or is it a re-imagining of an alternate past? No-one would instinctively group Harry Potter and Stephen King’s The Dark Tower in the same category.

Indeed, “fantasy” is such a broad genre that you’ll need to dig deeper to find your niche. Your subgenre…